Young, Invincible, and Now Forced to Shell-Out for Health Care

You’re 27 and employed, but you’re not raking in the dough. You’ve always been healthy, so the fact that you don’t have health insurance isn’t a big deal to you. Now, though, you’re hearing something about a “congressional mandate” to buy health insurance.

The health insurance industry considers you a member of the “Young Invincible” demographic (whether you realize it or not). Like many of the rest of the people in your demographic, you’ve decided that you don’t want to shell-out a few thousand dollars a year for health insurance because you usually don’t go to the doctor, and the cost just isn’t worth it. After all, that’s your prerogative, right?

According to reports, among the millions of Americans in your demographic, one in three is uninsured. Who you are or why you don’t want to spend money on health insurance really doesn’t matter.

Maybe you’re waiting tables, saving up some money so you can travel before you start grad school. Or you’re a personal trainer and you want to put some dollars away so you can start your own business. You could be overseas for a few months, and health insurance in the United States won’t do you any good, anyhow. You might even need to pinch every penny so you can buy an engagement ring for your girlfriend. Whatever the reason, you’ve decided to risk not having health insurance because there are other priorities that you would rather spend money on.

With the passage of the Senate health care bill, you no longer have that choice (unless you’d like to violate the law and pay a $750 fine, leaving you poorer and without insurance). Regardless of how healthy you are and how you’d like to spend your money, Congress plans on forcing you to buy health insurance.

No one is really sharing that information with you, though. Sure, there has been a lot of talk of the “congressional mandate” to buy health insurance and how it’s unconstitutional, but no one is telling you how much it’s going to cost, and no one is giving you an explanation.

Right now, a single 27-year-old living in Fairfax County, VA, can log-on to ehealthinsurance.com and purchase a health savings account for $103 per month or $1,236 per year (that gives you a $2,700 deductible, 0% coinsurance, in a PPO). That’s a mouthful.

Under the new health care exchange in the Senate bill, that same 27-year-old would have to pay $2,648 per year for mandatory health insurance. That’s $1,412 more expensive than the plan they could purchase online today (if they so chose).

To be fair, the 27-year-old may qualify for a subsidy to help pay for insurance which, on average, would cover about half of the premium, leaving their out-of-pocket cost at $1,324. That’s just about the same cost of the plan they could buy on ehealthinsurance.com, but frankly, that’s not the point.

That $1,324 is money that 27-year-old never wanted to spend. So why should they have to pay it? Why is Congress forcing them to pay for that insurance? They face a new mandate to buy health insurance in order to pay for older, sicker people who are in the same insurance pool. Those older Americans cost more money to insure, and the government needs younger, less expensive individuals to foot the bill.

In other words, Obamacare is being balanced on the backs of the Young Invincibles. Those invincibles no longer have the freedom to choose to spend their money on that trip to Europe, their new business, a sparkling engagement ring, or even something as basic as rent. Under the congressional mandate, they will be forced to choose between purchasing health insurance or violating the law and paying a penalty for doing so.

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I read somewhere that the reason for the 20% decrease in the Medicaid reimbursement is to offset what the health care bill will do to the national deficit. Without the re-do of the reimbursement formula, even the left knows the this will balloon the deficit. I believe the 20% reduction is a "red herring". It's never going to happen. The left had to put something in the bill to attempt to mislead the GOP and America that this is not going to hike up the national deficit. It's a lie. Mark my words. The 20% decrease will not happen and the deficit will be out-of-this-world.

Learn the arguments to explain why the government takeover of medical care is UNCONSTITUTIONAL. The papers will enable you to amaze your friends and family, and confuse & confound our enemies. GO FOR IT!http://publiushuldah.wordpress.com/

And what if that 27-year old decides to stop working and get on the welfare gravy train? Or what of that 27-year old who decides to commit crime and be sentenced to jail? This is absolutely ridiculous!

I'm 28 years old – male – married with no kids. I have an HSA with a 3500 deductible (5k at first, but 500 gets taken off every 6 months I don't meet the deduct). I pay 110 a month and I love it. This government is going to take it away and I know it. I tell all my friends that I can.

The problem with my generation is everyone is concerned with having the newest luxuries or what bar/club they want to go to. Its hard for the few young adults that are passionate about the current issues to get the others focused on what really counts. Something bad has to happen to trigger the young adults into action. Whether its the health care reform passing or another issue that effects the younger generations so greatly. We need to learn from our mistakes, and not let the senior citizens in congress ruin the rest of our lives with debt that they won't be around to pay off themselves.

Forcing people to care is not the answer to our problems. Yes, the older generation will need care, we as a younger generation should vote and come up with ideas to help our older population in the years to come.

Providing and enforcing Health care coverage to ALL is a lame, mis-calculated error on our government's hands and ultimately at the expense of future generations.

Having anything is this country is a privilege that Hard-working AMERICANS live for daily. Illegal-immigrants, people who could work-but choose not too, and fraud (Medicare/Medicaid) are the REAL ISSUES.

I pray daily that this Health care bill does not pass the way they want it to– and that the direction our country is going derails and comes back to having morals and values that American USED to have…

From everything I've read and heard it is not constitutionally legal for them to demand that we purchase health care. But, who am I? Just the average working stiff who has signed many petitions, made phone calls, sent donations, voted against this administration, and bottom line, nothing seems to matter what the American people want. We aren't being "governed." We are being "ruled" and over-ruled! sad

It is not your generation's fault it was so easily fooled by this carnival act shell game.

Our generation has allowed this "instant gratification" mentality to fester and grow out of control. Many of us have also lived beyond our means, and so it has gotten to this.

We have allowed the political correctness machine to chip away at our social fabric. We have allowed those who despise America to shut us up or humiliate us in numerous ways.

Now, millions of us no longer care what anyone thinks. If I have to be poor than so be it. The American "Republic" is more important than any one person, but our elected officials have to work for us.

YOU and people your age need to get the truth out. It will be difficult but if you don't keep trying than – welcome to socialism/marxism and more control of your life. Your friends won't think it is so funny once they wake up and see what has happened.

The government has had such great success with putting Social Security and Medicare on the backs of the young, so why not add health reform to our load? This is insanity. How much of our wealth and income will be required to fund Health Care Reform, $36 Trillion in unfunded Medicare liabilities, and Trillions more in unfunded Social Security? Makes me wonder who I will be working for in the future? Uncle Sam? Or, my family?

This whole article from The Heritage Foundation is based on "preliminary calculations" from The Heritage Foundation. This wouldn't even fly in a high school journalism class as a proper source. It would be like a Wall Street Journal article citing The Wall Street Journal for numbers that people are going to make important investment decisions on, what a joke.

No one has any idea what insurance companies are going to try and sell these exchange plans for yet, but somehow Mike Brownfield seems to have it down to an exact dollar amount for a 27 year old.

The story is an anecdotal one that could be persuasive if you had a reliable and believable source for the numbers. Just as persuasive is the anecdotal about the person who had insurance gets cancer and busts the cap out the lifetime limit of their insurance policy. Their entire family is then financially ruined trying to keep them alive or the not so anecdotal story about an insurance company refusing someone a life saving liver transplant by defining it as "experimental surgery" (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0386032/) even though the first liver transplant was perform in 1963, STARZL T, MARCHIORO T, VONKAULLA K, HERMANN G, BRITTAIN R, WADDELL W. "Homotransplantation Of The Liver In Humans". Surg Gynecol Obstet 117: 659–76.

I am against anything that the Government tries to force me to accept. I receive my healthcare from the V.A. How obamacare will effect me I don't know but am not to concerned with it as I could wind up better off. However I have three sons that do as they please between the ages of 20 and 28. If they are told by anyone that they have to pay $750.00 fine for not buying insurance that they can't afford or won't afford (take your pick) lets see the Government try and take it. There is no such thing as a debtors prison, those things were abolished during the American Revolution. Obama and those like him will be waiting until hell freezes over to get money from my boys if they don't desire to give it up voluntarily. Think seriously, what can the Government do? Dock their pay? Keep income tax returns? The answers to this will take the Dems untold years to try to figure it out before they sweep it under the rug and forget it. This is going to become a HUGE problem for Dems that will probably be enforced as often as spitting on the sidewalk laws.

When the bill becomes due for young folks under 30, they are going to crap their pants. Over sixty percent of these idealistic kids voted for change. The change they are going to get is less change in their own pockets. They will have to drive their Volkswagen vans to Washington, DC and leave them on the Capital Mall. They will not be able to afford them anymore.

See, they are getting their first lesson in economics. In the impending healthcare reform bill, their insurance rates are going up a minimum of 35%. Statistically, kids under 30 will use less health care yet will be paying a higher percentage of costs for healthcare. Overall, everyone is paying more. The highest increase in costs are placed on those under 20, though.

As I recall, the twenties are for building. Young adults build education and skills to provide for a family. Yes, building a family with a spouse and kids occurs in the twenties, too. Savings will need to be put away. Careers will need time and dedication to establish. A house and a car would also be nice. Thats quite a feat because income is less. Every penny means so much.

The young kids voted to keep less of their pennies. Big mistake.

When I was in my twenties, I rarely went to the doctor. Now, I am 40 and on a few medications. I even have a couple of diagnoses to my name. I need more healthcare, but I will pay less. Thats really ironic because I make six times more than I did in my highest income level at 29. Those whippersnappers are going to shuck out more — when making less money. I make and take more, but will pay less.

The Obama voters will never be able to catch up to me in economic standing, because they will be supplementing my expensive healthcare. Sorry, I am trying not to laugh.

I don't think the change they voted for included a diaper change. Tears will not make "hope" come around to change their diaper, either.

Constitution does not mean anything to this administration.Since they have the control of both houses solidly they can stack the suprime cort and clear the unconstitutional legislations Roosevelt could not do.This is the;Super Majority;advantage.

I heard a horror story once about a guy who was young, didn't have insurance, had a major accident and this became a major burden to his family. This is a nightmere, but people need to have freedom of choice, even bad choices.

Mitchell in Houston…I am a "senior citizen" and I agree with you 100%. I most probably will not live to see this garbage go into effect. My daughter and grandson will. I fear for their financial future and well being. Keep up the fight.

"Mutual of Obama", that's pretty good, Frank. I can hardly wait to overhear the conversations of the young faithful-in-government crowd when the reality of the costs of free health care, finally, sinks in.

I CAN RECALL MY DAD TELLING ALL HIS KIDS(2boys/2girls)THAT WHEN YOU GO LOOKING FOR WORK,JUST MAKE SURE THE COMPANY HAS A HEALTH PLAN.HIS THEORY WAS YOU NEVER KNOW WHEN YOU MAY NEED TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF IT.I GREW UP IN A CIVIL SERVICE ENVIRONMENT,THAT OFFERED ALL THESE BENEFITS TO ITS WORKERS.I THINK THE MENTALITY TODAY IS THAT I'M A YOUNG,HEALTHY,FAIRLY INTELLIGENT PERSON THAT DOESN'T NEED TO WORRY ABOUT GETTING SICK.

IT HAPPENS FAST,AND BEFORE YOU REALIZE IT YOUR IN A HOSPITAL BED.WHAT REALLY HURTS IS IT WAS THERE FOR ME,BUT NOT FOR THIS GENERATION.DON'T SPEND TOO MUCH TIME FEELING SORRY FOR YOURSELF.REALIZE,THIS IS WHAT YOU NEED TO DO FOR YOURSELF.YOU MAY BE FORCED TO SPEND NOW,BUT IT WILL BE THERE WHEN YOU NEED IT.GOOD LUCK TO ALL YOUNG AMERICA.

And people think they are getting hosed by the insurance companies, just wait till the government becomes the insurance company.

Insurance companies have and will continue to out of business when they lose money or become inefficient. Insurance companies can't print money and they can't tax people. The government can and does print money and the more they print, the less it buys.

Ever heard of a unit of government going out of business? When people think an insurance company charges too much, they can shop the market or drop the coverage if they don't want to pay. When the government is the insurance company, there is no market to shop, you can't drop the coverage and you can't walk away from paying taxes.

When you are in your 20's and bullet-proof you don't need insurance, right. Oh there are accidents of course, sometimes severe and disabling. Twenty-somethings have been know to get pregnant and sometimes have premature babies. Hospital bills for premature babies often run several hundred thousand dollars. When these sort of things happen to the bullet-proof generation with no insurance, here comes the march of the bleeding hearts dabbing their tears away, crying about the travesty to all the financial victims (parents, in-laws, spouses and children).

When someone decides to save a buck and not buy homeowner's insurance, and their house burns down, you seldom see the parade of the bleeding hearts demanding homeowners insurance reform. Why is that?

…To answer Brian in Las Vegas's questions – "Yes" & "Yes". Perhaps he did not see the language in the bills that requires the employer to inform the IRS of insurance coverage and level. When the federal government wants to get "back taxes" from you, they WILL garnish your wages, withhold your tax return and/or audit you…

What Obamacare is really doing is prepping for the millions of babyboomers who will soon go into long term living over the course of the next decade-have to pay for it somehow… If you could see the misuse and corruption of the Medicare/Medicaid system from an insiders perspective, and see how many diagnoses are embellished in order for people/companies to receive reimbursement from the government, you would be appalled. They are just now cracking down on this with a new pilot program to investigate whether hospitals and other facilities are correctly coding diagnoses for people who received care paid for by our tax dollars. They have already begun to recoup nearly $2 million from each of the 4 hospitals they audited, but what do you think will happen to that money? I don't forsee an $8 million tax refund for America, do you? I'm packing for France.

This is nothing more than a power grab by the government. All the conservative bloggers, FOX news people, and talk radio knew it all along.

Once this goes through, we are well on our way to Socialism – plain and simple.

Our own President has always hated our country – because he has always said he wanted to change it – or should I say "Fundimentally transform" it.

Our Democrat congress/senate full of sheep are following him and sending us, the taxpaying citizens, right over the cliff. I'm not sure if they know not what they do because they are blinded by the messiah's halo? Or do they really believe that what they are doing is "right" for the "good of all"… there you go – the good of all – first step to Socialism. We are doomed as a free country to lose the freedoms and liberties we have all taken for granted if we let this take place without a fight.

God grant us the strength to fight this tooth and nail and not let us become the same as Venezuela – that USED TO have a Constitution – until their President believed he was God, and took all that away and more. Just look at what Chavez has done to that country… he has taken away the vote and has lifelong power, he has stolen public property in the name of "the people", he has terrorized and closed opposition voices on radio and TV, and now owns all Media in his country.

Healthcare is only one of the ways this country is being taken over..wake up! We have already been told how much money our CEO's can make, our banks and car companies are now owned by Obama, and when Cap and Trade pass, we won't even be able to sell our own houses if they don't think they are energy efficient enough. Who will he send to inspect our homes – ACORN? Never mind the taxes and prices of everything skyrocketing!

And the newest news that know one has heard yet – Obama has signed an executive order that INTERPOL (world police) now doesn't need to follow our Constitution. Guess that's the non-military police force he was planning on having to carry out his wishes…got a gun in your house? They'll just crash through your door and take it away! No Constitution protection for you!

The 27 year old doesn't have to 'Commit' any crime to go to jail. All he has to do is not buy Insurance and he gets five years! Then he gets free medical, denal, eye care, prescription, education, three hots and a cot, TV and Sports! His family also get free Medical, Dental, Eyes, Education, Home, Power, Food, Heat. Plus other benefits. Sounds a lot better than working! People will be lining up.

My 21 year old doesn't have the money to buy health insurance. Right now because she is a full time student, she is covered under my family plan.

My 26 year old doesn't have the money for health insurance, I will have to pay for it. This is what is going to happen, the parents will pay for the health insurance so their kids won't go to jail. This is insane.

I want to know what happend to the major medical insurance we could buy in the past. I would buy that for my whole family. That's all we need, we can pay for the minor office visits. Of course the government probably did away with that.

I married in 1950, we had Group Ins. through my husbands work, Our first son was paid for completely out of pocket, the second we paid over 1/2 and as with the rest of our children. Routine visits were paid out of pocket, in the 26 yrs we had Ins. before he died, we used it 1/2 doz. times, we never used the amt' paid in, same as I did on my own, infact before Medicare I never used the Ins. I was paying for, didn't have to, Thank God. I have only had 1 hosp. on Medicare,I take very few and these are lowcosting medications, two for allergies and two for GERD, the rest I take are vitamins which are OOP. The point is I've paid or family paid many times what we have used, as do most people, I am not complaining it's just the way the "cookie crumbles" the same for auto Ins. good drivers pay and seldom use, life Ins. you pay into and someone else benefits, other than Auto Ins. life Ins. etc. are not required, Ins. co's refuse to ins. high risks on Life, or they have high premiums, if you are a bad driver you pay higher premiums, the same should be for health Ins. Since I am a nurse and I did work for an Ins. Co. years ago I know if you are covered on your parents Ins. most times you can switch to a policy for yyourself without a physical, I have never had to fill out that any pre-existant cause was present on getting Ins. through employment, I did have to pay for Ins. as well as for Soc. Sec. and Medicare. "Nothing in life is FREE", Liberals only try to sell it as being free.

First of all, the commerce clause should just be amended to say the federal gov can regulate anything it wants if this mandate is held to be constitutional. This is unprecedented!

Their whole goal of this wicked mandate is to have the young/healthy subsidize the old/sick by paying a wildly disproportionate share of the costs relative to what they use. This is primarily because they will artificially restrict the ratio between what an old /sick person pays vs what a young/healthy person pays in premiums. Additionally, we will be forced to purchase minimum levels of coverage, which will be both excessive and bloated. It's like asking someone who drives a Ford Escort to pay insurance on a BMW. Those who will be screwed the worst are those who make too much to qualify for subsidies but too little to afford the monthly premiums. (Although one may earn more than four times the poverty level, money can be quickly consumed by $400/month student loan payments, rent, auto insurance, child rearing, utilities, food, etc.)

What will likely happen is that many young people will drop out of the insurance pool and pay the fine because it will be much cheaper than the oppressive unfair premiums. Sticker Shock. This will cause everyone else's premiums to rise because the pool will become older and sicker. Some might argue we should actually increase penalties for opting out. If that happens, and I'm forced into an excessive plan, I'll make it my goal to utilize as many healthcare resources as possible even if not medically necessary because I refuse to throw away money on a monthly basis and get little if anything in return.

I'm a little confused about the comparison made in the original post about the cost of a health savings account on ehealthinsurance.com and the health insurance proposed in the bill…a health savings account and health insurance aren't the same thing…isn't a health savings account basically funds of your own that you put aside to cover future care, and insurance is insurance with the possibility of significantly higher benefits being paid out were the insured to become sick? The health savings account you reference basically sets up pre-tax deductions from the 27-year old's income that are set aside for her/him to be reimbursed from for health care throughout that year. When those funds she/he sets aside run out, they run out. Insurance pays benefits out against a lifetime maximum of a million or more. So, the plans are not the same thing and their costs can't be compared against the other? If a 27-year old person were to try to buy private insurance on the open market currently comparable to what the bill offers, the cost would be significantly higher annually than the numbers referenced here? I'm asking this question in all seriousness as an independent-minded person trying to understand the facts. Thanks in advance for your response.

[…] understand who is most adversely impacted by health care legislation, please consider Young, Invincible, and Now Forced to Shell-Out for Health Care. You’re 27 and employed, but you’re not raking in the dough. You’ve always been healthy, so […]

[…] understand who is most adversely impacted by health care legislation, please consider Young, Invincible, and Now Forced to Shell-Out for Health Care. You’re 27 and employed, but you’re not raking in the dough. You’ve always been healthy, so […]

[…] understand who is most adversely impacted by health care legislation, please consider Young, Invincible, and Now Forced to Shell-Out for Health Care. You’re 27 and employed, but you’re not raking in the dough. You’ve always been healthy, so […]

What's this about going to jail over insurance? I tell you now that I will not be in the this idiot country by the time that occurs. My wife is british and I have always wanted to live there, now I have to go because I will not buy insurance just on principle. I can barely afford what I have now and that is because I was screwed by a family member and God 10 years ago. This is the worst excuse for a country I can imagine. Idiots like the guy who said all those that don't buy insurance are dead beats. I work my skinny ass off every goddamn day and I have nothing to show for it because of fate. That is not my fault and forcing more money out of me because you are stupid is not right and I will not every buy it. God has not blessed me like others, so they can all go to hell if they think I am a dead beat. I was planning on going to school to study meteoroloy. That door has been shut and now cannot re-open thanks to this stupid law. This country can go to hell. Oops, too late!!!

I will not pay for health ins that I wont use or for anyone else's health ins for that matter even if it means quitting my job and working off the books again! I have been paying taxes and being taken advantage of ever since I started to work the books 4 years ago this country is going to hell unless you believe its ok for the govt to bail everyone out and have us foot the bill. ha LMFAO not this 28 Year old I wont pay anyone else's bill! Forget it and I dont want anyone paying for me either. Tell them CEO'S to stop getting their $420,000+ Facials and kiss my @$$

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